Eight acrobats hospitalized after circus accident

Associated Press

Providence — Eight circus acrobats remain hospitalized after an accident during a hair-hanging stunt sent them plummeting to the ground.

Rhode Island Hospital officials said Tuesday that four of the women are in serious condition and four are in good condition. The accident happened Sunday during a performance of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey circus in Providence.

Relatives and rescuers say the women suffered injuries including a pierced liver, neck and back fractures, broken ankles and head injuries.

Investigators suspect a snapped clip, which they found broken in three pieces on the ground, is to blame. The carabiner clip was one of several pieces at the top of a chandelier-like apparatus that suspended the performers.

The circus is replacing every carabiner in the show before the next performance, on Thursday in Hartford, Connecticut.